French Parliament Votes to Enshrine Abortion Rights
After passing in the lower chamber of Parliament, the French Senate on Wednesday voted 267-50 to make abortion a constitutional right. Both chambers will vote again on Monday, and if the bill passes with a three-fifths majority, a referendum vote will be unnecessary....
Facts
- After passing in the lower chamber of Parliament, the French Senate on Wednesday voted 267-50 to make abortion a constitutional right. Both chambers will vote again on Monday, and if the bill passes with a three-fifths majority, a referendum vote will be unnecessary.1
- One line in the provision states: 'The law determines the conditions under which the right is guaranteed to a woman to resort to voluntarily terminating a pregnancy.'2
- While access to abortion, which was decriminalized in France in 1975, isn't seen as at risk in France, the proposed amendment came in response to recent laws and court rulings that have rolled back national abortion rights in countries like the US and Poland.3
- Most of the 50 senators who voted against the amendment didn't take an anti-abortion stance but rather argued that enshrining it into the Constitution would create a hierarchy of rights.4
- The effort to include abortion in the constitution follows the government's extension of the abortion limit to 14 weeks of pregnancy, up from the original 10-week limit set in 1975.2
Sources: 1BBC News, 2Euronews, 3The Telegraph and 4The New York Times.
Narratives
- Left narrative, as provided by CBC. While this vote certainly fits France's history of leading the fight for abortion rights, it was also a strong response to the US' reversal of Roe v. Wade. As emerging right-wing governments push to roll back women's rights, leading liberal countries in the West should take inspiration from France and work to codify this human right within their own governments.
- Right narrative, as provided by Detroit Catholic. The abortion debate in France has become so taboo that only the most ardent supporters of abortion on demand have been allowed to speak freely. Even pro-life advocates aren't calling for complete bans, but what they are asking for is the ability to educate the public on the alternatives to terminating pregnancies. Social services should be designed to give people all options.
